Seventeen EU leaders press Irish presidency to protect farm funding in next budget
With Giorgia Meloni and Nicușor Dan as first signatories, the group also wants cohesion funding preserved, national rebates scrapped and NextGenerationEU loan repaid more slowly to free up fiscal space.
A letter signed by 17 European Union leaders has urged Irish President Micheál Martin to prioritize agriculture funding in the upcoming revision of the EU's budget, as negotiations on the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) reach a critical stage. The letter's signatories include heads of state from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Hungary.
The leaders recognize that Europe is facing new challenges and opportunities, emphasizing the need for the MFF to support security, competitiveness, connectivity, energy security, and resilience. However, they stress that these priorities should not compromise treaty-based policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cohesion policy, which remain crucial for European integration and addressing contemporary challenges.
The leaders argue that both policies have proven adaptable to changing economic and social realities while preserving their treaty objectives. They also highlight that these policies generate significant benefits for the EU's economy and its citizens. Relying on their May 26 joint declaration, the leaders urge the preservation of overall funding for cohesion policy and CAP in the next MFF, as they face real-terms cuts under the Commission's proposal despite an increase in the size of the MFF.
Further, the leaders argue that Europe requires additional resources to cope with its new priorities. They acknowledge the need for appropriate resources while safeguarding funding for agriculture and cohesion, and express willingness to work constructively on the revenue side, including exploring proposals for new own resources.
The leaders also emphasize that the current system of rebates, which aimed to address an excessive burden on certain member states, is no longer relevant and should not be included in the next MFF. Instead, they propose options such as a more gradual repayment of NextGenerationEU and limited and targeted European debt instruments for clearly identified strategic priorities.
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